Container



y 1933. J. WHITING n Q 1,906,684

CONTAINER Filed Dec. 31,' 1930 Patented May 2,1933

' JASPE WR TI G, or DUBLINHNEW HAMPSHIRE co ri'AI'NER, p

ApplicationfiIedfDecembenSI, 1930. 1 Serial my. 505,724.

This invention relates tomat ch boxes, ash trays, andsimilar artlcles. 1 It aims to improve will be more convenient to, use than prior devices of this general type.

Itis a common experience to have a desire to smoke when the onlydifliculty in satisfying that desire is the fact that thereis'no place to dispose of burned matchesor ashes;

The present invention aims to devise an article which will'supply this need, such an I article preferably, but not necessarily, being combined with a match box.

The nature of theinvention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 1 g r In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the parts of a combined match box and ash tray constructed in accordance" with this invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are plan and'end views-,

' respectively, of the article shown in Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a side View of the device shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3; and

Figs. 5 and Gare perspective views of containers embodying features ofthe invention in a slightly different form.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to .4, inclusive, it will be seen that the article there shown comprises a U-shaped casing, preferably made of resilient sheet metal and including upper and lower walls '2 and 3, respectively, and a bridge 4 connecting said walls. Mounted side by side in this casing are two boxes 5 and 6, the former preferably consist ing merely of a tray or drawer, made of metal, bakelite or other suitable material, and being designed to hold ashes, burned matches, and the like, while the latter con- 5 sists of a match box of a common form.

This box 6 includes "a shell a and a tray or drawer b slidable in the shell, the tray being designed to hold a quantity of matches. One

- 6 side 0 of the box 6 is coated with a material necessary for or designed ,to facilitate the devices of this charac-',

'ter with a view to providing an article which will have a wider range of usefulness and grip both-boxea the movement of the drawer b.

lighting (3f the matches. Preferably a,

and 6- are in the casing the walls' tend to of thewalls 2 and 3 are bent downwardly to provide flanges? and 8 which serve as stops toprevent the movement of the boxes later- At the open slde of the casing-theedges ally through the openside of the casing. ,A I

leaf spring}? is securedto the bridge piece 4' by a rivet 10 and presses bothboxes toward the right,-Fig. 3, thus holding the box 0 in firm engagement with the flanges 7 and 8.

This pressure of theboxesagainst the flanges is relied upon largely to 'holdthe'boxes in their normal positions in the casing.

. To open the ashbox 5 it is simply pushed I in an, endwisedirection partially out of the casing. In order, to retain it normally in its centered position in the. casing where the topof the box or drawerv is covered by the upper wall 2 of the casing,'the spring "9 is provided withtwo small projections orlugs 12 punched in it and arranged to enter cor respondingv indentations 13 formed "in'one side ofthe'box 5. 1

; The match box may be used in theordinary manner, the draweror tray 6 being pushed, endwise out. of the shelland casing, a match removed and scratchedonthe sur-,

face ,0, the 'tray in the -meantime being returned to its closed position. .There is some tendency for the shell a of the match boxto move with'the drawer, and in order to overcome this tendency and'to hold the match boxshellcentered in the casing, short lugs or ears 14 are bent over at the'ends of both flanges 7 and- 8, as shown'in the drawing, wherethey will engage the opposite ends of theshell. These lugs, however, do not; project inwardly far enough {to obstruct The invention thus provides a device in whichwa match box andash tray-are combined in a form very convenient to use and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

It is contemplatedthat featuresof the invention may; be embodied in either amatchbox or ash tray, one being independent of the other, and such constructions are shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

In Fig. 5 the box 5 is held in a casing 15, U-shaped in form, and having flanges 7 and 8 against which the box is held by a spring 9' which may be like the spring 9 and may cooperate withthe box in the samemanner as in the construction shown in Figs. 1 to. 4, inclusive.

Fig. 6 shows the match box 6 mounted in a Ushaped casing 16 provided with flanges 7' and 8, respectively, and having cars 14 constructed like and serving the same functions as the corresponding parts shown in Fig. 1. A leaf spring 17 similar to the spring 9 presses the box 6 laterally against the flanges 7 and 8.

Having thus described my invention, what Idesire to claim as new is:

1. An article of the character described comprising a U-shaped casing, two boxes located side by side in said casing between the upper and lower walls thereof, each of said boxes comprising a drawer adapted to slide endwise of the easing into open or closed positions, a spring for pressing said boxes toward the open side of the casing, one of said boxes having a side surface exposed at said open side of-the casing, and stops at said open side against which the latter of said boxes is held by said spring.

2. An article according to preceding claim 1 characterized by the fact that one of said boxes includes a shell in which its drawer is slidably mounted, and said casing is provided with stops at its opposite ends to engage the shell and hold it against endwise movement.

' 3. An article according to preceding claim 7 1 characterized by the fact that means associated with the casing holds both boxes normally in a centered. relationship to the casing.

1. An article of the character described comprising a Ushaped casing, two boxes located side by side in said casing between the upper and lower walls thereof, one of said boxes consisting of a drawer adapted to slide endwise of the casing into an open or closed position and the other consisting of a match box comprising a shell with a drawer slidably mounted in said shell, a spring for pressing said boxes toward the open side of the casing, said match box having a side surface exposed at said open side of the casing, and stops at said open side against which the latter of said boxes is held by said spring.

5. An article of the character described comprising a U-shaped casing, an ash tray and a match box located side by side in said casing between the upper and lower walls thereof with one side of said match box exposed at the open side of the casing, and. both boxes being slidable endwise relatively to the casing into open and closed positions. 6. An article of the character described comprlsing a U-shaped caslng including up per and lower walls and a bridge portion connecting them, said casing being open at the side opposite to said bridge portion, a box positioned in said casing and having a side surface exposed at said open side of the casing, said box comprising a shell and a drawer slidable in said shell into open and closed positions, stops at the open side of said casing for preventing said box from sliding sidewise out of the open side of the casing, and a leaf spring interposed between the bridge portion of said casing and said box for holding said box yieldingly against said stops, said spring and said box having cooperating parts for centering the box in said casing.

JASPER VHITING. 

